March 3, 9 a.m.: Huge opportunities for Virginia Tech and Maryland tonight over the next two days. Maryland gets Wake Forest tonight. The Hokies get North Carolina tomorrow. Victories would go a long way to solidifying tournament berths.

As for Notre Dame, the Irish will need to attempt to win the Big East tournament. At least get to the final. I am putting ND at the bottom of this list today.

Each morning, I will post my last four teams in the field and my first teams out. As you can tell, it is very difficult to separate one team from another, and selection committee members often differ on which credentials they value most. (SOS means strength of schedule; all records reflect Division I competition; all data courtesy of Jerry Palm’s Web site, www.collegerpi.com)

IN
Maryland (18-10, 7-7)
Pros: two top five victoriesCons: 2-5 on road